The state Legislature’s top Republican said yesterday more money can be found for New York City schools without hurting wealthier suburban districts.

Noting a recent court decision that the state has under-funded the city’s school system, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said changing the aid formula “does not mean that some school districts must receive less aid than in prior years.”

But Bruno did not rule out changing the politically sensitive provision that ensures all districts get at least the same amount of aid as the previous year.

His comments came on a day when a new statewide Quinnipiac poll showed 60 percent of New Yorkers support spending more money on the city’s schools.

But the poll did not ask voters if wealthier districts should lose money to help high-need districts, nor if they believe the city should kick in more money as well, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) noted.

“We want to help, but it has to be a partnership,” Brodsky said of suburban lawmakers.

The Quinnipiac poll showed an overwhelming majority of those surveyed believe money spent on public schools has at least some effect on the quality of education provided.

Statewide, 60 percent say city schools deserve more state aid, 27 percent want to keep the city share the same, and 4 percent want to see it cut.

Not surprisingly, the call for more spending is loudest from the city, where 82 percent want increases in aid.

But suburbanites apparently are also sympathetic to the city’s problems, with 63 percent calling for more city school spending. Upstaters, according to the poll, were less eager to help, with 41 percent calling for increased spending and 37 percent calling for the same amount of spending.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 6 and 12, with 1,412 registered questioned. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.